J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol., 50, 47–53 (2004)

lowing six genera: Acetobacter Beijerinck 1898, Gluconobacter Asai 1935, Acidomonas Urakami et al. 1989, Gluconacetobacter Yamada et al. 1997, Asaia Yamada et al. 2000, and Kozakia Lisdiyanti et al. 2002 (De Ley et al., 1984; Gillis and De Ley, 1980; Lisdiyanti et al., 2002; Stackebrandt et al., 1988; Uhlig et al., 1986; Urakami et al., 1989; Yamada et al., 1997, 2000). The acetic acid bacteria have been isolated from alcoholic beverages, vinegar, fruits, flowers, honey, bees, sugar cane juices, soil, and water (Saeki et al., 1997; Swings, 1992; Yamada et al., 1999). Recently, many species of acetic acid bacteria were described, especially in the genus Acetobacter on the basis of DNA base composition, DNA-DNA similarity, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing (Cleenwerck et al., 2002; Lisdiyanti et al., 2000, 2001; Sokollek et al., 1998). Since Thailand is located in a tropical area, we have expected that many species of acetic acid bacteria will be found in this country. This study aims at the isolation and identification of acetic acid bacteria from fruits and other source materials collected in Thailand. Acetic acid bacteria were isolated by an enrichment culture approach from many kinds of fruits and other source materials collected in Bangkok and in some provinces of Thailand. The collected source materials were incubated at pH 4.5 and 30°C for 3–5 days in a GEY liquid medium (15 ml) composed of 2.0% D-glucose, 5.0% ethanol, and 1.0% yeast extract. When miIdentification of acetic acid bacteria isolated from fruits collected in Thailand